Cutting and marking device for sheet material



June 15, 1937.

T. C. PERRY CUTTING AND MARKING DEVICE FOR SHEET MATERIAL Filed July 30, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 woman/g June 15, 1937.

CUTTING AND MARKING DEVICE FOR SHEET MATERIAL Filed July 50, 1956 T' C. PERRY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mun WWI" i 55 SYWC HtC 72 4mm! 7 RR); flzczwaa,

m4" a @33 3 I Patented June 15, 1937,

UNITED STATES CUTTING AND MARKING DEVICE FOR SHEET MATERIAL Thomas 0. Perry, deceased, late of Sand Springs,

kla., by Thomas Edison Paflord, administrator, Sand Springs, 0kla., assignor, by decree of distribution to Marion B. Perry, widow Application July 30, 1936, Serial No. 93,528

11 Claims.

The present invention relates to mechanism useful in the cutting and marking of sheet material.

It is desirable in many instances to cut sheet material in definite or predetermined lengths from a lay or stretch of such sheet material.

In order to increase the accuracy of the lengths into which material is to be cut and reduce the time element in the operation, it is the object of '10 the present invention to provide mechanism whereby strips of sheet material may be cut into definite lengths and at the time of cutting to mark the strip at the point it is to be next sev ered.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a device of the above stated character where the marker is actuated by the cutting device and where the two may be adjusted to each other whereby the strip of sheet material may be cut 20 and marked into lengths of diiferent sizes.

The invention further resides in the combination and organization of the instrumentalities and in the sundry detail of construction and arrangement of parts of the individual instrumentalities herein shown in the drawings and more fully set forth in the following specification and pointed out in the appended claims:

In the drawings which show several embodiments of the invention as at present devised:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a measuring or cutting table equipped with the present invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the cutting table shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view of a table sim- 35 ilar to that shown in Figure 1 equipped with a different form of cutter than is disclosed in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on line 4-4 of Figure 3;

40 the detailed construction of the cutter and marker illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 and the electrical connection between them;

Figure 6 is a side view of one section of the cutter, which is shown removed in Figure 5 and which, when in position, forms the complemental half of the cutter or nicker; and

Figure 7 is a side elevation showing an assembly similar to that shown in Figure 5 except that another type of cutter is shown.

While the present invention is capable of use in connection with the measuring apparatus illustrated and disclosed in United States Patent No. 1,933,682 and also capable of use in connection with the apparatus in my co-pending United States application, Serial Number 93,529 it is susceptible of various other uses alone or in combination therewith and is not limited to use in connection with the severing and measuring of tex- 60 tile sheeting.

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view showing- Referring in detail to thedrawingain whichlike characters denote similar and like parts throughout the several views, and referring particularly to Figures 1, 2, 5, and 6, element in denotes a surface or table on which sheeting material may be laid and over which it may be drawn.

Positioned on the table and preferably at one edge thereof, is a cutter I! by which the edge of the sheet material may be nicked. On the table and preferably on the same side of the table as the cutter i2, is a marker l3 which is actuated in any suitable way by the cutter l2. It is proposed to have either the cutter or the marker remain stationary on the table and the other of the two to be adjustable so that the cloth may be cut and marked in different lengths.

Consequently, it will be seen from Figures 1, 2, and 3 particularly that, when it is desired to cut a length of sheet material, the sheet material is brought over the surface of the table l0 and under the marker [3 and its advancing edge to or slightly beyond the knife or cutter I2, the knife and marker being so relatively spaced that, when the advancing end of the sheet is cut by the knife. the marker l3 will be suitably actuated by the operation of the knife to mark the sheet at the point it is to be again severed for the determined length. The marked point on the sheet is then advanced to the cutter and the sheet is cut on said marking; then the cycle of operation is repeated as long as is desired.

It is customary among manufacturers of bedding and table cloths and other textile sheeting of the better grades that the fabric be drawn from a roll to a table and, when measured to the desired length, to nick or cut the edge of the sheet and then to tear it along a weft thread, thereby obtaining astraight sever or cut so that when the fabric is laundered the edge will be straight. Therefore, there is shown in Figures -1, 2, 5, and 6 a type of cutter or knife particulariy useful for the purposes just mentioned. For the purpose of the present disclosure the marker is shown as being stationarily positioned or mounted on the table while the cutter is adjustably mounted.

This cutter l2 comprises a frame work or casing a. slidably mounted on a base or block b having an irregular surfaced opening therein to slidably receive a bar It, horizontally positioned preferably on the edge of the table by means of brackets IS. The underside of the bar is notched at intervals, as shown at It, and in which notches a yieldable spring pressed detent I! will engage for holding the knife or cutter in a predetermined position which may correspond to selected lengths into which the sheet material is to be cut, these distances to be calculated, of course. with respect to the position of the marker I3.

The detent l1 may consist of a ball l1 in an opening II which communicates with the opening l9 through which the slide bar l4 extends, the ball being held in position against the bar 5 H by a thumb plug 20 threaded in the opening l8 and between which and the ball is interposed a compression spring 2|, the plug being locked in adjusted position by a Jam nut 22.

Of course, the knife may be positioned at any 10 point along the length of the bar i4 and positively locked in its adjusted positions by a hand screw 23 threaded in the underside of the block b to bind against the bar. a

The casing a of the knife I2 is somewhat of a goose neck in appearance and is to support and house a cutting blade and an electrical switch mechanism. This casing may be stated, however, as being substantially a right-angled shaped box or, in other words, an inverted L shaped box with a slot 24 on the inner side of the Junction of the two arms, the horizontal portion overlying the edge of sheet material on the table III. This casing a is preferably divided into two halves, one section being mounted on and car-' 25 ried by the block b and the other section 0 being removable, see Figure 6.

Preferably mounted on the section c is a cutting blade 25, which has its cutting edge projecting beyond the edge of the slot 24 at the junction of the two arms of the L shaped casing so that when the edge e of the sheet is raised upwardly by the hands of the attendant, it will be brought into contact with the cutting edge and cause said edge to be nicked, while at the same time protecting the hands of the operator from accidental injury.

It will also be observed, that because of the shape of this cutter and the position of the blade 25, the sheet does not have to be pulled 4|) out of alignment but merely raised upwardly.

Mounted on the other section a of the casing is a make and break contact device which consists of a stationary contact member 26 and a cooperating movable contact member 21, these 45 being in an electrical circuit, indicated by conductors 32, 33, and 34. The movable contact member may be carried by an arm 28, preferably pivotally mounted, as at 29, to the casing section a. The arm 29 is provided with a trigger 5o portion 30 which normally extends through the slot 24 beyond the cutting edge of the blade 25 (the blade 25 being indicated by dotted lines in Figure 5 and the trigger member being indicated by dotted lines in Figure 6). i

65 The arm 26, and consequently the trigger portion 30 thereof, is held in its normal position (full lines in the drawings) by a. spring 3| attached to-one end thereof and to the casing. In the normal position of the arm 28 the con- 00 tact members 26 and 21 are out of engagement.

Thus, it will be seen that when sheet material is raised under the inverted L shaped casing a of the cutter l2, it will first come in contact with the trigger member 3|] and cause it to be 65 moved against the tension of the spring 3| to bring the contact members 26 and 21 in en gagement to close a circuit through the conductors 32, 33, and 34 and that further movement upwardly of the sheet will cause the cut- 70 ting edge of the knife 25 to nick the edge of the sheet.

With the closing of the circuit through the conductors 32, 33 and 34, the marker I3 will be actuated to mark the cloth at a point 1: so as 75 to indicate the next point for cutting and severing the sheet. This marker may be of any suitable and approved construction.

As an example of a marker which may be employed, there is shown in Figure 5 an annular member 34 mounted on a supporting arm 35 5 overlying and spaced from a base plate 35a and to which it is connected at one end. The edge e of the sheet material H on the-table In is passed between the arm 35 and the plate 35a. Positioned on the base member is solenoid 36 having 10 its movable core 31 provided with a rod extension 38 which passes through a guide boss 39 on the base 34.- This extension 38 carries a marking element or wheel 40 which, in its normal inoperative position, rests against an ink pad 15 4| inserted and supported in an opening in one side of the base 34.

The solenoid 36 is connected to the source of supply through the conductors 32, 33, and 34 and is energized to lower the core 31 thereof 20 when the contacts 26 and 21 are closed, thus completing the circuit through the conductors 32, 33, and 34. The marking element 40 may be of any desired character either for making a spot mark or such as would extend transverse- 2 1y across the sheet or fabric H to be severed.

A control switch 42 is interposed in the said circuit so as to render the device operative or inoperative.

Thesolenoid 36 is held in position on the base 0 34 by a header or plate 43, through which stay bolts 44 extend and are also connected with the base 34. The entire assembly may be enclosed by a cylindrical casing 45 and a cover plate 46 held in place by screws 44a. ,9

In some instances it may be desired to cut the material entirely by a knife instead of nicking the edge and tearing, as in the case just described. In such cases a slot 41 is provided transversely across the surface of the cutting table I0, provided 40 on one edge thereof with a cutting edge 48, with which a slicing knife |2a will cooperate, as shown in Figures 3 and 4. This knife is shown herein, for example, as being pivoted at one end, as at 49, and provided with a handle 5|! at the other 5 end. This pivoted end of the knife is provided with a cam surface 5|, which when the knife is in its normal position, will be ineffective but which, when the knife is lowered to its cutting position, will close the normally separated spring 50 contact members 26a and 21a of the conductors 32a and 33a, positioned on the table under the cam 5|, thus closing the circuit to the marker |3a, the marker being of the type previously described.

In this form of the invention the knife may be adjustable in the manner shown in United States Patent 1,933,682, or the marker |3a may be adjustable along the edge of the table ||la relative to the knife to cooperate with scale markings 52, by means of thumb screw engageable in open- 60 ing 62.

The invention is further susceptible to modification, such as shown in Figure '1, where the cutter is shown as of the conventional manually movable cutters, which comprises a cutting knife I21) (either of the reciprocating or rotary type) driven from an electric motor 53, all mounted on a base 54, which may be slid on the surface of the table under the material to be cut and the knife following in the kerf of the cut, the device 7 being manually operated and guided through a handle 55. In this instance, both the electric motor 53 and the marker |3b are operated from the same source of power, there being on the cutter a manually operable switch 56 in the circuit 7 provided by the electrical conductors 32b, 33b,

' and b, which will control the operation of the cutter as well as of the marker 131). In this form of the device, when the cutter has been positioned at the mark on the sheet, and the switch 56 has been operated to start the motor 53, the marker lib will be energized and operated to mark the fabric to indicate the point where the next succeeding cut or sever is to be made.

Having thus described the invention in the forms in which it is at present devised, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to such forms or specific cons ructions herein defined and shown but may be modified. in many ways within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device for measuring and cutting sheet material in selected predetermined lengths, the combination of a cutting member relative to which the sheet material is drawn and by which it is cut and a printing mechanism longitudinally spaced along the length of the sheeting and remote from the cutting mechanism to mark the sheeting at the next point at which it is to be operated upon by the cutting member, and an operative connection between the said cutting mechanism and said printing mechanism whereby when the material is cut the printing mechanism is caused to operate to mark the material, said cutting member being adjustable to predetermined positioning relatively to the printing mechanism, whereby diiferent lengths of sheeting may be selectively severed.

2. In a cutting and marking device of the kind described, a cutter mounted adjacent the material to be cut, an electric make and break contact device positioned to be operated when the material is cut by said cutter, and an electrically operated printing device spaced from said cutter and in circuit with said make and break contact device whereby the latter will mark the material for the next point of sever.

3. In a cutting device of the kindv described, a cutter mounted adjacent sheet material to be cut and having the cutting edge thereof positioned opposite an edge of said material, an electrical make and break contact device, a trigger member normally lying in advance of said cutting edge, whereby, when the material is moved in contact with the knife, said trigger operates to close said contacts, and an electrical circuit including said contacts and controlled thereby.

4. In a cutting device of the kind described, a cutter mounted adjacent sheet material to be cut and having the cutting edge thereof positioned opposite an edge of said material, an electrical make and break contact device, and a trigger member normally lying inadvance of said cutting edge, whereby, when the material is moved in contact with the knife, said trigger operates to close said contacts, an electrically operated marker spaced from said cutting device and electrically connected through said make and break contact device of said cutter.

5. In a cutting device of the kind described, a cutter mounted adjacent sheet material to be cut and having the cutting edge thereof positioned opposite an edge of said material, an electrical make and break contact device, a trigger member normally lying in advance of said cutting edge, whereby, when the material is moved in contact with the knife, said trigger operates to close said contacts, and an electrical circuit including said contacts and controlled thereby,

said cutter being adjustable along the edge of said working support to predetermined positions.

6. In a device of the character described, a marker device, a supporting arm for said marker and supporting the same over work to be marked, a reciprocal marking roller mounted on the device for movement to and from the work and normally urged and held out of contact with the work, and an electric operated mechanism for reciprocating said marker in contact with said work when said mechanism is actuated, a stationary pad of marking material removably inserted in an opening in said device and projecting into the path of movement of said marking roller to be contacted thereby to roll over said pad.

7. In a cutting device for sheet material, a cutter comprising a casing to be mounted along the edge portion of a work support for sheet materiaLa knife mounted in the casing and having the cutting edge thereof projecting therebeyond and positioned thereon to cut the edge of said material when the latter is brought in contact therewith, an electrical make and break contact device in said casing, one of said contacts being movable with respect to the other, a trigger member on the movable contact and normally lying in advance of the cutting edge of said knife whereby when the material is moved in contact with the knife said trigger operates to close said contacts, and an electrical circuit including said contacts and controlled thereby.

8. A device as set forth in claim 2 further characterized by said printing device and cutter being relatively adjustable whereby different lengths of sheeting may be severed.

9. A measuring device for sheet material drawn manually over a surface where it is severed into predetermined lengths, comprising a cutter positioned with respect to said surface to be brought -manually in contact with the sheet material, a

sheet material drawn from a supply, a cutter positioned adjacent the edge of the sheet material and adapted to be brought in contact with said edge to nick the same, whereby a length may be torn from said sheet material at the point initiated by said nick, an operable stamping device positioned along the length of said sheet material at a point spaced from said cutter, an operable means between the cutter and the stampingdevice for causing the stamping device to operate and mark the surfaces of the said sheet material at a point where it is to be next nicked by said cutter.

11. In a system for measuring and severing sheet material as set forth in claim 10 further characterized by the cutter and stamping device being relatively adjustable with respect to each other to predetermined positions, whereby different lengths of sheeting may be selectively severed.

THOMAS EDISON PAFFORD, Administrator of the Estate of Thosr 0. Perry,

Deceased. 

